Tag: 1977

Colors I’ve never come across will always draw extra attention. On an early 930, I know I’m hooked. So what do we have here? It’s a 1977 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera in paint-to-sample Gazelle Metallic with a nice looking and contrasting Dark Brown leather interior. The CoA hasn’t been provided here so we lack that verification, but the rarity of the color seems hard to doubt. And, really, what better way to paint a sports car than as a gazelle? Avoid the lions and you’re sure to make spirited progress! Like the Copper Brown Metallic 930 we saw last week the colors here are very much a period-correct combination, and in this case perhaps even more so. Yet each also possesses enough charm to help it excel even outside of its original vintage. This one is not quite gold, not quite brown. It is not quite like any other color I’ve seen.

I could be totally off base here, and I will admit that there is some legwork and research to be done, but I think this 1977 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera is priced pretty darn well and could be a really nice value. I’ve featured a few 911 Turbos of late that struck me similarly so perhaps values for even these early Turbos are starting to come down some, but it is certainly worth investigating further. The colors appear to be Copper Brown Metallic over a Cork interior, a very period-correct combination that looks really nice on this 930 and presents well inside and out. We’re told it has been repainted, but the interior is said to be entirely original.

This 930 has such amazing contrasts and I love it. Granted in 1977 (or even today) a 930 wasn’t exactly a shrinking violet so it’s going to draw attention regardless of what color it is, but still this is pretty much plain ‘ole Silver on the outside. But check out the interior. It is everything and its existence almost seems impossible given the exterior. These are the sorts of options Porsche made available during the ’70s and even if I can admit that they might be tough to love on a regular basis they are still so great to see and a testament to the wilder side of this seemingly staid German marque. So here we have a Silver 1977 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera, located in Los Angeles, showcasing a Red interior with Tartan inserts and only 10,960 miles on it.

Probably one of the most clichéd cars ever, the R107 was everywhere in the 1970s and 1980s. Probably it is because it lived a long enough life that a child could be conceived in it, then sent off to college and Mercedes-Benz were still selling them on their showroom floors. From Magnum, P.I., to Dallas, to Knight Rider – even Wonder Woman drove one of these. I’m still trying to piece together how she afforded a $32,000 car (over $140,000 in today’s dollars) on a government salary. What that left us with today is a market full of used R107s that are harder to get rid of than free kittens. Go jump on Craiglist and search ‘Mercedes SL’ and you’ll find listing after listing of these parked in front of nice but clearly dated homes with phrases like ”time to let her go” and ”I have the original hardtop too!!” I usually don’t even bother looking at R107 ads anymore but this one caught my eye. The rare color of Cayenne Orange and a sparse 6,600 miles had me curious. So if you aren’t tired enough of seeing R107s for sale, let’s check this 1977 450SL out in North Carolina.

Looking at this Porsche 930 I immediately feel like Homer Simpson, “Mmmmmm, double chocolate.” Less drooling though. Technically the interior color isn’t considered to be chocolate, but one look pretty much confirms that’s just a matter of semantics. It definitely matches the Bitter Chocolate exterior. Like with a few other 911s I’ve featured recently this one showcases a period-correct appearance that is very difficult to found outside of the ’70s. While not everyone may be enamored of the exterior color – I happen to think the interior is fantastic and will have broader appeal – for collectors a period-correct example should garner a little more notice, and given the asking price this one is aimed directly at collectors.

This 930 really takes us back to the ’70s. Sitting in Siena Metallic over Tan this 1977 Porsche 930 Turbo Carrera shows us where Porsche’s iconic Turbo began. This particular 930 began life as a US market car, but has subsequently found its way to Britain where it still resides. The 930 brought a bit of dramatic flair to the 911 line with its widened rear and whale tail, not to mention the much increased power all still being delivered only to the rear wheels. Porsche had certainly showed this kind of drama in its racing builds and translating those efforts to the street seems to have worked quite well.

This one might be a little too close to my own preferences with regard to color, but I hope others find this 911 as great looking as I do. Here we have a Minerva Blue Metallic 1977 Porsche 911S Coupe, located in New York, with a Cork interior and 46,394 miles on it. This combines two of my favorites. Minerva Blue is a wonderful shade of blue as we’ve seen before and Cork is easily my favorite among the various tan interior options Porsche has made available. Combined they work fantastically well together. Outside of those colors things get a little more tricky. A ’77 911 finds few favorites and those that do look for these models typically have their eye on their lower values. The price here extends us outside of that sort of search. Still it’s a beautiful looking example that sits with pretty low miles.

Let’s visit one of the unloved: a 1977 Porsche 911S Targa, located in Nevada, with an interesting Tan interior with tartan inserts and 96,000 miles on it. The mid-year 911 showed some gains in appreciation over the past year, but still tends to lag behind most other models. The drop-off in values from the long-hood 911s that preceded them is significant, but they even tend to lag behind their successor, the 911SC, for all but the best examples. A combination of reliability issues, lower performance, and the design aesthetic of the impact-bumper cars all have contributed to those lower values. Yet, there is still appeal to these 911s and like anything else when the value is right, the appeal increases as well. This one is up for a no reserve auction and barring something unexpected I suspect this Targa should represent one of those nice values.

Tuner Tuesday posts usually focus on cars that have been turned up a few notches by aftermarket companies, but for some time Mercedes-Benz did all the magic internally. Indeed, if you go back to the 1920s and 1930s, Mercedes-Benz had a habit of taking the largest motor they could reliably produce and sticking it in their luxury cars. Such was where the legend of the 500 and 540K specials came from, but while the War postponed many further developments Mercedes-Benz were back at it in the W109 300SEL 6.3. Apparently not satisfied by that factory hot rod, engineers conceived its replacement with an even larger 6.9 liter V8 – mind you, in the midst of an international fuel crisis. Churning out 286 horsepower from the now legendary M100 V8, the 450SEL 6.9 was effectively a land-bound aircraft carrier and about as powerful. Long ignored by the market, the 6.9s have heated up over the past few years as large classic Mercedes-Benz models have become increasingly sought after and the rare 450SEL with the big motor is a solid draw. Today I have two examples to consider – a desirable European version and a less powerful and not quite as attractive American-spec car. Which is the one to choose?

A little under a year and a half ago I took a look at one of the last vestiges of affordable classic Porsches – the “Poor Man’s” 924. This Bahama Blue Metallic example had covered a scant 39,000 miles under one claimed owner in its lifetime, but also showed a fair bit of age and had some non-original, incorrect paint work. At $6,500 in October 2014, it was too rich by my measure and it appears that I was right, as the car has re-emerged with a slightly lowered $6,000 asking price. Although the market has warmed slightly to the transaxle cars over that time, I still think this is a hard sell but it is a pretty cool alternative to similarly priced Volkswagen Rabbit or early Scirocco models.

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